Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Category: Patent

USPTO Releases Examples of Patent Eligible Claims Relating to Abstract Ideas

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On February 2, 2015

We previously reported on the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s issuance of new interim examination guidance in December for evaluating subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. At the time, the USPTO included examples of allowable claims for nature-based products in light of previous Supreme Court rulings in Mayo and Myriad. On Tuesday, January 27, the USPTO followed up by releasing claim examples relating to abstract ideas in response to the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in Alice.

USPTO Issues New Guidance on § 101 Subject Matter Eligibility

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On December 22, 2014

On December 16, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued new interim examination guidance for evaluating subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This guidance, entitled the “2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility” (“Interim Guidance”), was developed in view of the recent Supreme Court decisions in Alice, Myriad, and Mayo. The Interim Guidance supplements the June 25, 2014 Preliminary Examination Instructions that we previously discussed, and supercedes the March 4, 2014 Guidance following Myriad and Mayo.

Heartburn Relief: AstraZeneca Wins Nexium Antitrust Trial

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Posted in Patent

On December 17, 2014

On December 5, 2014, an 11-person jury decided in favor of defendants AstraZeneca PLC and Ranbaxy Laboratories, Inc. in the first pay-for-delay class action trial since the United States Supreme Court in FTC v. Actavis, Inc. opened the door on antitrust suits based on patent settlements. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. was also defending the suit before reaching a settlement shortly before the trial ended. United States District Court Judge William Young of the District of Massachusetts last year permitted certification for the class members, including union health plans and insurance companies, based on an alleged injury of supracompetitive prices for AstraZeneca’s brand name heartburn drug, Nexium®.

Lacking A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi – Federal Circuit Finally Holds Ultramercial’s Patent Does Not Cover Patent Eligible Material

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Posted in Patent

On December 4, 2014

On November 12, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that Ultramercial, LLC’s patent covering an eleven step process of watching a commercial as a condition of accessing free media content is invalid as covering patent ineligible material. The patent at issue, U.S. Patent No. 7,346,545 (“the ’545 patent”), claimed a method for distributing copyrighted products (such as songs, movies, books) over the Internet where the consumer receives a copyrighted product for free in exchange for viewing an advertisement, and the advertiser pays for the copyrighted content. The Federal Circuit had held the ’545 patent claimed patent eligible subject matter twice before and both times was reversed by the United States Supreme Court. This iteration saw the Federal Circuit uphold the grant of a motion to dismiss claims of infringement by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on the basis of patent-ineligibility.

Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and an Enhancement! Oh My!

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Posted in Patent

On November 21, 2014

We have previously posted on the judiciary’s attempts to address frivolous and unwarranted suits brought by patent holding, non-practicing entities (“NPEs”). To deter such litigation, courts have the power to award attorneys’ fees and costs to defendants subject to such baseless suits. In an October 23 Opinion and Order in Lumen View Tech., LLC v. Findthebest.com, Inc., District Judge Denise Cote, applying 35 U.S.C. § 285 (“Section 285”), not only awarded the defendant its attorneys’ fees and costs, but also applied an enhancement to the awarded fees.

Recent Case Reveals Effective Strategy for Responding to NPE Suits

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Posted in Patent

On November 10, 2014

A recent decision from the United States District Court of the District of Hawaii reveals an effective strategy for responding to non-practicing entity (NPE) suits and obtaining leverage early on in the litigation. This strategy takes into account the business model of some NPEs to name many (unconnected) industry players in one lawsuit and plead only bare allegations of patent infringement.

The Honorable Grace K. Obermann to Present at NJIPLA’s ETS Seminar on November 6, 2014

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Posted in Licensing / Patent / USPTO

On November 3, 2014

On Thursday, November 6, 2014, The Honorable Grace K. Obermann, Lead Administrative Patent Judge, USPTO, PTAB, will present on practicing before the PTAB at the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association’s seminar, “Electronics, Telecom & Software Patent Practice Update.” The seminar will also address topics such as licensing guidance, implications of recent Supreme Court decisions, and damages considerations.

Has Alice Really Changed The §101 Standard for Patentability of Business Method Claims?

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Posted in Patent

On October 23, 2014

In the latest Supreme Court case on patentability under §35 U.S.C. 101, Alice Corp. Pty v. CLS Bank Int’l. (“Alice”), the Court addressed business method patent issues, finding that the claims at issue for mitigating settlement risks were drawn to an abstract idea and their generic computer implementation failed to transform the abstract idea into patent-eligible subject matter. 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014).

Service of Discovery Also Subject to New Deadline in Delaware Federal Court

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Posted in Intellectual Property / Legislation Updates / Patent

On October 21, 2014

We previously posted on the new deadline of 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time for all filings other than initial pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. On October 15, 2014, Chief Judge Leonard Stark of the District of Delaware issued a letter addressing certain questions about the new rule. Chief Judge Stark reiterated that filings and service must be completed by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and further indicated that this rule applies to all filing and service deadlines — including service of discovery materials — in every case in the District of Delaware, other than initial pleadings or those cases in Bankruptcy Court.

Put Away that Midnight Oil: New Rule in the District of Delaware

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Posted in Intellectual Property / Legislation Updates / Patent

On October 14, 2014

On October 2, 2014, Chief Judge Leonard Stark of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware announced a new deadline of 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time for all filings other than initial pleadings. As of October 16, 2014, “[a]side from initial pleadings, all electronic transmissions of documents (including, but not limited to, motions, briefs, appendices, and discovery responses) must be completed by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, in order to be considered timely filed and served that day.” Initial pleadings which are filed before midnight will still be considered timely.

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